Character Artist - Onsite Auckland Studio

Blind Squirrel Games; Auckland; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Blind Squirrel Games in Auckland, New Zealand, is seeking a Character Artist to help create memorable characters and creatures for upcoming titles. You will translate concepts into game-ready assets and collaborate with artists, designers, and engineers to maintain art direction and technical pipelines.

This full-time on-site role emphasizes ownership, high-quality meshes, textures, and animation-ready topology, with opportunities to mentor others and help refine workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Art or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• A minimum of three years of industry experience in game development specializing in character art; five or more years for senior‑level responsibilities.
• Experience contributing to shipped games; for more senior roles, shipped at least two titles as a Character Artist or 3D Artist with substantial character art responsibilities.
• Portfolio demonstrating high-quality characters, creatures, and assets reflecting experience.
• Strong understanding of anatomy, proportion, silhouette, topology, and character construction.
• Proficiency in modeling, sculpting, texturing, material creation, and game engine integration.
• Understanding of PBR workflows and real-time asset requirements.
• Ability to interpret art direction, receive feedback, and refine work to meet expectations.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, organizational, and time-management skills.
• Greater ownership and mentoring for senior roles.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality character, creature, clothing, accessory assets using industry-standard tools.
• Translate concept art into fully realized assets aligned with art direction.
• Sculpt detailed forms and production-ready models with strong anatomy and silhouette.
• Create animation-ready topology supporting rigging and performance.
• Develop UV layouts, textures, and materials using PBR workflows.
• Create hair and fur using XGen or similar workflows for in-engine rendering.
• Integrate assets into the game engine and collaborate with engineers and animators to resolve issues.
• Optimize assets with LODs, efficient materials, and texture atlases.
• Evaluate appearance under gameplay lighting and adjust as needed.
• Maintain visual quality and consistency across assets.
• Define tasks with production, set schedules, and deliver on time.
• Organize assets within project directories and version control.
• Iterate on work based on leadership feedback and improve workflows.
• Share knowledge and mentor colleagues as appropriate.

Skills

Character art

Anatomy

Art direction

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Art or related field

Tools

Maya

3ds Max

ZBrush

Substance Designer/Paint

Marvelous Designer

Photoshop

Unreal Engine 4/5

Jira

Job description

Blind Squirrel Games in Auckland, New Zealand, is seeking a Character Artist to help create memorable characters and creatures for upcoming titles. You will translate concepts into game-ready assets and collaborate with artists, designers, and engineers to maintain art direction and technical pipelines.

This full-time on-site role emphasizes ownership, high-quality meshes, textures, and animation-ready topology, with opportunities to mentor others and help refine workflows.